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Declension of ī-ending Feminine Nouns

‘ī’- ending Feminine Noun: itthī
itthī = woman

Similar to the ā-ending feminine noun vanitā (from Unit 6), we can observe that the above feminine nouns too have the a declined form (singular) common to instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive and locative cases.

Please note that the ā-ending feminine nouns have this declined form ending in āya – e.g. vanitāya, kaññāya, paññāya; the i, ī, u and ū-ending feminine nouns have the declined form ending in yā – e.g. bhūmiyā, rattiyā, itthiyā, nadiyā. The translation of this declined form depends on the context in which it is used.

Let us translate a few sentences containing declined forms of the noun itthī

1. Itthī kaññāhi saddhiṃ vanaṃ gacchati.
   The woman goes to the forest along with girls.
   itthī = nominative singular (subject)
   The verb gacchati (ending in ‘ti) indicates that the subject is singular.
2. Itthī kaññāhi saddhiṃ vanaṃ gacchanti.
   The women go to the forest along with girls.
   itthī = nominative plural (subject)
   The verb gacchanti (ending in ‘nti) indicates that the subject is plural.
3. Ācariyo itthīhi saddhiṃ bhāsati.
   The teacher speaks with the women.
   itthīhi = instrumental plural
4. Yācakā itthīhi dhanaṃ yācanti.
   The beggars beg for money from the women.
   itthīhi = ablative plural
5. Itthīnaṃ puttā ca kaññāyo ca uyyānamhi kīḷanti.
   Sons and daughters of the women play in the park
   itthīnaṃ = genitive plural
6. Vāṇijā itthīnaṃ nagarasmā bhaṇḍāni āharanti.
   The merchants bring goods for the women from the town.
   itthīnaṃ = dative plural
7. Yuvati itthiyā saha bhāsati.
   The maiden speaks with a woman.
   itthiyā = instrumental singular (instrumental case can be easily identified if used with the words ‘saddhiṃ’ or ‘saha’)
8. Samaṇo itthiyā dhammaṃ deseti.
   The monk teaches dhamma to a woman.
   itthiyā = dative singular (the woman is recipient / beneficiary / indirect object)
9. Dārako itthiyā khīraṃ yācati.
   The child asks for milk from a woman.
   itthiyā = ablative singular
10. Itthiyā putto bhūpālassa amacco bhavati.
    The woman’s son becomes a minister of the king.
    itthiyā = genitive singular

Some other ī-ending feminine nouns which decline like itthī are :

• nārī = woman
• bhaginī = sister
• brāhmaṇī = brahmin woman
• bhikkhunī = nun
• rājinī / devī = queen
• pokkharaṇī = pond, lake
• vāpī = a well
• kumārī = girl
• gāvī = cow
• nadī = river